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Assessment of forest change and mining expansion using high-resolution land cover data: the case of Serbia
Vulević, Tijana
Lazarević, Katarina
Todosijević, Mirjana
Momirović, Natalija
Nikolić-Jokanović, Vesna
Kovačević, Ranka
Nominé, Alexandre
Abstract: Identifying changes in forest cover is essential for tackling major forestry challenges—enabling effective biodiversity conservation, enhancing ecosystem protection, and understanding land-use pressures driven by human activities such as mining. This study evaluates long-term changes in forest cover in Serbia by using CORINE Land Cover (CLC) datasets with a spatial resolution of 100 m for the years 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. Forest dynamics were quantified using the Annual Forest Area Change Rate (AFACR), while changes in mining areas were assessed through the Annual Mining Expansion Rate (AMER). In addition, the study examines the spatial overlap between forest loss and the expansion of mining sites to determine the contribution of mining to deforestation. The results indicate a predominantly positive AFACR in the periods 2000–2006 (0.17 % yr⁻¹) and 2006–2012 (0.07 % yr⁻¹), followed by a slight decline in 2012–2018 (–0.02 % yr⁻¹). Overall, forest area increased modestly between 2000 and 2018, with an average AFACR of 0.07 % yr⁻¹. In contrast, mining areas expanded substantially, with AMER values of 2.06 % yr⁻¹ (2000-2006), 2.54 % yr⁻¹ (2006-2012), and 0.24 % yr⁻¹, 2012-2018), resulting in a long-term AMER of 1.61 % yr⁻¹ for 2000-2018. A total of 92,512 ha of forest was lost between 2000 and 2018. However, only 574 ha of this loss overlapped with newly established or expanded mining sites, indicating that mining accounted for approximately 0.62% of the national forest loss during the study period. These mine-induced forest clearings were exclusively detected within the Kolubara open-pit mine. These findings highlight that, although mining areas expanded rapidly, their direct contribution to deforestation at the national scale remained limited.
engleski
2025
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Keywords: forest change, mining, land use, land cover, Serbia.